Space

Further Reading

References

Soviet Interkosmonaut Missions

By Marcia S. SmithFormerly with the, Science Policy Research Division of the Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service

1971-1975/1976-1980

Soviet Manned Space Programs: 1957-80

INTERKOSMONAUT MISSIONS

As detailed later on (see pp. 618-37), several of the flights to Salyut 6 involved cosmonauts from countries other than the Soviet Union. The Soviet attitude toward international cooperation in space, including flights of representatives of other countries, is discussed in part 1, chapter 3 of this study (see pages 272-282) and will not be repeated here.

The term "Interkosmonaut" is used here to denote cosmonauts from the other Interkosmos countries ( Bulgaria, Cuba, Czechoslova kia, East Germany, Hungary, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, and Vietnam). From 1978-80, representatives from all but Mongolia and Romania flew into space, and all but one (Ivanov of Bulgaria) docked with Salyut 6. The Bulgarian cosmonaut was on Soyuz 33 which was unable to dock because of an engine failure. (Mongolian and Romanian cosmonauts voyaged into space in 1981.)

Each country selected two men to train as cosmonauts, one prime and one backup. Training occurred over a 2-year period at Star City where they worked closely with their Soviet colleagues. The final crew was composed of a Soviet commander and a "cosmonaut-researcher" from the Interkosmos country. Each successful light lasted for just under 8 days, and involved a wide variety of experiments conducted on board the space station, many of which were developed jointly by Soviet scientists and those of the participating country. These experiments are described both in the section one Salyut 6 experiments (p. 585) and Manned Missions to Salyut 6 (p. 609).

A summary of the Interkosmonauts and their backups is provided in table 9. It

is not expected that the backup will make a flight.

The order in which the cosmonauts made their flights has been the subject of acute interest in Western circles, since it appeared in some cases to have reflected political relations between the various countries and the Soviet Union. For example, the decision to make the Romanian cosmonaut wait until last was seen as an indication of the cool relations between the two countries at the end of the 1970's. When the Vietnamese cosmonaut made his flight during the Moscow Olympics, this was seen in some quarters as trying to impress the Third World. Whether such motivations were in fact responsible for the order in which the Interkosmonauts were launched has obviously never been discussed in the Soviet literature. (60)

THE INTERKOSMOS PROGRAM

ASPECTS OF COOPERATION

Organizational arrangements: Interkosmos and Intersputnik

(1) Interkosmos

Organizational arrangements for space cooperation between the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and other Communist states (excluding China) were created within two institutions, Interkosmos and Intersputnik.

Interkosmos, the Soviet acronym for the Council for International Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, was established in 1966 within the Soviet Academy of Sciences. Academician Boris N. Petrov was designated as its head, thus lending sub stance to the judgment of some space observers that Petrov "looks to be the nearest thing to a 'NASA Administrator' in the Soviet system, at least in policy negotiations." (38) While the general task of this organization was to coordinate the work of the various ministries and departments involved in international programs on space research, its primary function was to oversee and coordinate Soviet space cooperation with Eastern European and other Communist countries. (39)

Interkosmos, as a larger entity for intra-Communist space cooperation, had its beginning in November 1965 at a meeting of representatives from Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Cuba, the GDR, Hungary, Mongolia, Poland, and Rumania under the leadership of the Soviet Union. Conferees at this meeting drafted a comprehensive plan for space cooperation. Subsequently, after an exchange of views concerning content, forms, and lines of cooperation, a conference was held in April 1967, and a comprehensive plan for intra-Communist space cooperation termed, the Interkosmos program was formally adopted. (40)

For the purpose of carrying out agreed joint projects under the Interkpsmos program, national coordinating bodies called National Agencies were established in the nine member countries. Conferences of the heads of these coordinating bodies have been held annually for the purpose of resolving basic problems relating to the program and formulating new long term tasks for cooperation in space. (41)

The Interkosmos program has covered a broad range of scientific problems that can be broken down into the following five major areas: Space physics, space meteorology, space communications, space biology and medicine, and the study of the natural environment by means of space techniques. Permanent mixed working groups were established to deal with current matters and make decisions on concrete problems within these five areas. These working groups were expected to meet whenever necessary, but at least once a year.42 During intervals between sessions of the Conference of National Agencies overall coordination in carrying on the work of Interkosmos, according to the 1977 agreement, resided with the Interkosmos Council in Moscow.

Cooperation under Interkosmos did not envisage the setting up of an international secretariat or a common budget. As Kapitonov explained:

A CMEA country which has no interest in a particular space experiment does not take part in financing it either, which naturally simplifies decision making by the countries concerned. The Soviet Union has made available its space technology to its partners free of charge, so that countries taking part in an experiment have to finance only that part of the work which is projected in joint consultations, the development of instruments and devices for sputniks and research rockets on the basis of cooperation, and so on. (43)

In March 1977, the initial agreement establishing Interkosmos was renewed for another 10 years. In general, the agreement conformed to the earlier instrument in structure and content. Article 2 enumerated the five basic areas of activity noted above; Article 3 spelled out the forms of cooperation in these main areas as follows:

( a) Launching of space devices for scientific and applied purposes.

(b) Creation of apparatus for the conduct of joint space research.

(c) Experiments using geophysical and meteorological rockets.

(d) Joint observation, experimental and theoretical research on subjects relating to outer space.

(e) Processing, analysis and use of the findings of joint space researches for scientific and applied purposes, and also the preparation of joint publications.

(f) Conduct between interested countries of consultations and, in conformity with special agreements, mutual scientific and technological assistance, including exchange of technology in respect of particular themes and projects in the sphere of the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes.

(g) Symposiums, conferences, seminars, and other meetings.

(h) Exchange of scientific and technological documentation and information. (44)

A review of extensive materials on the Interkosmos program during the period under review seems to support the views of Koval and Tyurin that,

Comprehensive studies and experiments are being conducted on the Interkosmos satellites. Solar, earth, and interplanetary space physical processes are being studied. The studies are also being conducted on the Soyuz ships, Salyut orbital stations, and "Vertikal" Geophysical Rockets. Meteorological studies are conducted with M-100 and MR-12 rockets as well. (45)

A further indication of the measure of activity within Interkosmos is the statement of Academician Petrov on October 3, 1977 during a press conference commemorating the 20th anniversary of Sputnik. In his remarks Petrov emphasized the versatility of the Interkosmos program, noting particularly that 17 Earth satellites and five geophysical rockets, "Vertikal," had already been launched under this program. (46)

(2) Intersputnik

Intersputnik, the other organization for space cooperation among Communist countries, was established in 1971. Its primary purpose was to provide an international system of space communications, using satellites in space and complexes on the ground. Bulgaria, Hungary, the GDR, Cuba, Mongolia, Poland, Rumania, Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union concluded an agreement setting up this system in competition with the U.S. supported Intelsat. Centered in Moscow, the Intersputnik International Organization had the responsibility of insuring the proper functioning of the system. According to the agreement, Intersputnik was open to other interested countries. (47)

In building the Intersputnik system, ground stations using Orbita were established in the signatory countries to provide the transmission of color and black-and-white radio broadcasting and telephone-telegraph communications for official use and that of the press_ In 1976, a direct telephone communication system was established between Cuba and Czechoslovakia via Intersputnik. Before then such communications were maintained through other countries. Direct satellite telephone communications have existed between Cuba and the Soviet Union since 1974. (48)

Participation in experiments

(1) Methodology

A considerable amount of public information on space experiments and on manned spaceflights within Interkosmos is available in Tass reports and in other Soviet and East European sources A great deal of this material has been translated and reproduced in FBIS publications. Extensive commentaries using Communist sources are also available in American and British journals on space and aeronautics. For the 5-year period of this study, 1975-80, the coverage has been massive. Since the objective in this study chapter is only to suggest the Soviet attitude toward space cooperation, the method chosen here, like that in the chapter on Soviet space politics, is a highly selective one; that is, simply to take a core sample of the data and present it, at best, as evidence of an aspect of this attitude and from it make some tentative generalizations. For convenience the subject is divided into two parts: Participation in experiments using Earth satellites and in manned spaceflights.

(2) The Interkosmos series

Since 1969, the Soviet Union, its allies in Eastern Europe, and other Communist countries, participated in an extensive program of space exploration under the Interkosmos program. Perhaps the most significant project was the Interkosmos series.

On October 14, 1969, the first Earth satellite was launched under the auspices of Interkosmos. It carried scientific instruments developed and made in Czechoslovakia, the GDR, and the Soviet Union. Simultaneously with the measurements being made on board, scientists from seven Interkosmos countries participated in ground-based geophysical and astronomical observations. Interkosmos 1 carried out a study of solar activity and its influence on the Earth's atmosphere.

Studies of the Sun were continued under the Interkosmos program on Interkosmos 4, 7, 11, 16 and on the Interkosmos-Copernicus 500 satellite. In the course of these experiments a number of important results were achieved by instruments developed jointly by scientists of Czechoslovakia, the GDR, and the Soviet Union

Interkosmos-Copernicus 500, launched in April 1973 to mark the 500th anniversary of the great Polish astronomer, was a Soviet-Polish satellite. For 6 months it was used to study sporadic solar radiation and the ionosphere; it also registered flares on the Sun in the given band of wave lengths. (49)

A study of the physical characteristics of the upper layers of the atmosphere and the ionosphere of the Earth was made from Interkosmos 2, 8, 12, and Interkosmos-Copernicus 500. Scientific instruments aboard Interkosmos 2 and 8, developed by specialists from Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the GDR, and the Soviet Union, helped to obtain new data on the temperature of electrons and their concentration. A study was also made of the parameters of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere by ground-based stations in Cuba, Hungary, Poland and Romania. (50)

By October 1977, as Dr. Petrov reported, 17 Interkosmos satellites had been launched. A chronicle of Soviet space activity in 1978 recorded the launching of Interkosmos 18 on October 24 to study the interaction of the Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere. The satellite carried instruments and a telemetric information transmission system designed by Czechoslovakia, the GDR, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union. Specialists from the participating countries prepared the instruments for the flight and controlled the experiment. (51)

Interkosmos 19 and 20 were launched on February 27, 1979 and November 1, 1979, respectively. Specialists from Bulgaria, Hungary, the GDR, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union prepared the satellite equipment for launching and contolled the operation. (52)

(3) Other forms of space cooperation

Other forms of space cooperation were undertaken in the Interkosmos program. For example, Vertikal geophysical sounding rockets provided information on the vertical cross-section of the atmosphere and helped measure its parameters at various heights virtually simultaneously. Scientists from Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the GDR, Hungary, Poland, and the Soviet Union participated in these experiments. (53)

On November 3, 1978, Vertikal 7 geophysical rocket was launched under Interkosmos auspices. Its task was to continue the comprehensive study of the Earth's atmosphere and ionosphere and of the interaction of short-wave solar radiation and the Earth's atmosphere. According to a Soviet report, at the height of 175 kilometers the stabilized container with scientific instruments designed and tested by Bulgarian, Czechoslovakian, Hungarian, Romanian, and Soviet specialists, separated from the rockets. "The instruments, it was said, "functioned efficiently." (54)

Joint theoretical research into the physics of outer space was also undertaken within Interkosmos. Moreover, specialists in Interkosmos, according to Kapitonov, have been doing "a great deal" on space meteorolgy. Several countries, he said, "are engaged in developing complete ground equipment for receiving data directly from weather satellites, and this will naturally help the weather services to make weather forecasts faster." (55)

Experiments by East European countries were also carried aboard Salyut 6, and numerous experiments were flown in the Kosmos series, such as the biosatellite, Kosmos 936, discussed above in Soviet-American space cooperation.

Systematic observations by means of optical and recently laser aids were being made on the movement of satellites for the purposes of geodesy and to determine the density of the Earth's upper atmosphere. Successful experiments were staged with the use of laser range-finders developed jointly by scientists of Czechoslovakia, the GDR, Hungary, Poland, and the U.S.S.R. According to Kapitonov, these installations "make it possible to measure the distances to the sputniks, which amount to thousands of kilometers, to an accuracy of one metre." (57)

(4) Attitude of a Czechoslovak scientist toward Interkosmos

That East European scientists take a special pride in their work within Interkosmos and place a high value on the work they are doing, was evident in an interview with Vaclav Bumba, scientific secretary of the Czechoslovak Interkosmos Commission, corresponding member of the CSSR Academy of Sciences, and director of the Academy s Institute of Astronomy in Ondrejov. Bumba made the following points:

On Czechoslovakia's share in the Interkosmos program.—"All 17 Intel-cosmos satellites and the six vertical geophysical rockets were equipped with our apparatus. Six of the 12 experiments of Intercosmos 17 were our own doing."

On the quality of Czechoslovak space apparatus.—"So far our apparatus have worked well. Soviet experts used some of them in the Cosmos and Prognoz satellites and the Mars interplanetary station; we received the results of their measurements in return.

On the "loser radar for satellite observation. "—"It was based on Czechosolvak laser equipment for geodetical surveys of the earth, produced by the nuclear and physical engineering departments of the Czech Higher Technical College. In Ondrejov it was rebuilt, in cooperation with the experts of other socialist countries, into a radar for observing satellites, which measures distances of thousands of kilometers with a 1 meter precision. Our experts have stationed such radars in Poland, the U. S. S. R., Egypt, Bolivia and India to form an observation network. Now we are building a second-generation laser radar."

Of the cosmonauts' health and we have also worked out suggestions, which determine the physiologically most advantageous composition of the atmosphere in spaceships

for enhancing the crews work capability. We are also conducting research of the ways and means determining the people s higher psychic qualities for spaceflights."

On-board detectors.—"The apparatus for measuring the heat release of the cosmonaut's body and the apparatus for observing the oxygen regime in human tissue, based on the polarograph principle, are both in the testing stage. In the future they are to be included in the equipment of spaceships."

On the practical implementation of space research results.—"This research has enabled the CSSR to participate in the system of Intersputnik communications satellites. Other research improves long-term weather forecasting. Research in space biology and medicine is helping in supersonic airplane flights and various operations involving risk."

On whether the Interkosmos program "will greatly influence our life."—"Precisely so. If the CSSR is to belong to the leading states of the world, this must be so." (58)

Participation in manned spaceflights

(1) Interkosmos cosmonauts: Decision and training

The impression that countries of Eastern Europe and other members of Interkosmos appear to have been deeply involved in a broad range of experiments under Soviet aegis in Interkosmos is fortified by their participation in Soviet manned spaceflights. Involvement has taken on two aspects: The actual participation of Interkosmos cosmonauts as crew members, and their contribution in experiments to be flown aboard Salyut 6.

The decision to integrate Interkosmos into the Soviet manned spaceflight program was taken in Interkosmos during 1976. (59)

Cosmonauts from Czechoslovakia, the GDR, and Poland arrived at the Yuriy Gagarin Space Center in December 1976 to begin training. Selection of the candidates from the three most advanced East European countries was believed not to have been difficult since a near decade of participation in Interkosmos had provided a pool of talent. (60) A Soviet pilot cosmonaut with many years of training was expected to command the international flight crew, as indeed was the case. Foreign cosmonauts were to be "flight engineers" and "research engineers." Their main task was expected to be the oversight of the experimental program being carried aboard their particular mission. (61)

The Interkosmos manned flight program was expected to run for 5 years. The total number of foreign cosmonauts in training would not exceed 20 and only half would go into space. (62) By mid-1981, nine had actually flown on Soviet manned space missions, in this order: A Czech, Pole, East German, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Vietnamese, Cuban, Mongolian, and Romanian.

The training of the cosmonauts, as described by Maj. Gen. Alexei Leonov, deputy head of the Gagarin Training Center and himself a ranking Soviet cosmonaut, seemed to be intensive in every respect. The first stage included theoretical studies combined with flight experience in jet planes, physical exercises, simulation of zero-G flights, practicing elementary procedures of splashdown, retrieval by helicopters from thick forests, mountains and other difficult terrain.

The second stage consisted in mastering the Soyuz spacecraft and the specific program for a flight to a Salyut space station. (63)

That the Interkosmos cosmonaut program had its political aspects there seems little doubt.64 This point seems borne out in the concluding statement of an article by Lt. Gen. Georgi Beregovoi, a much decorated Soviet cosmonaut, on the training of international crews that had clear political overtones. Summing up the training program with an enumeration of the list of candidate cosmonauts, Beregovoi quoted Brezhnev as saying, * * * this is but the beginning. More will follow. The fraternal friendship and cooperation of the socialist countries have stepped out beyond the earth into the vast-nesses of the Universe. This makes us glad and proud. (65)

Yet, as it will be shown below, Interkosmos cosmonauts did participate in the Soviet program in an international cooperative effort, and they did make some contributions, beyond the political, to their assigned missions.

(2) Soyuz 28: Remek space/light (Czechoslovak)

Czechoslovakia was to be the first among the countries of the Soviet bloc to send one of its citizens to accompany a Russian into space.

On March 2, 1978, Soyuz 28 was launched with Soviet cosmonaut Col. Aleksei A. Gubarev in command and with Captain Remek, a pilot in the Czechoslovak Air Force, aboard as a "cosmonaut researcher." Soyuz 28 docked with the Salyut 6-Soyuz 27 space station and returned to Earth on March 10, 1978, with Gubarev and Remek aboard. (66)

A variety of experiments were carried out aboard the space station that were either wholly or in part prepared by Czechoslovak scientists and technicians. A Soviet-Czechoslovak chlorella experiment, for example, was undertaken to study the influence of weightlessness on the growth of algae. The Institute of Microbiology of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences worked with their Soviet counterparts in preparing this experiment. Czechoslovak scientists from the Institute of Experimental Botany and the Botanical Institute of the Academy of Sciences and from the botany department of Karoly University in Prague also participated. (67)

Another "very important" study was carried out in the Morava Technological Experiment using the Splav 1 installation, according to Koval and Tyurin. This experiment consisted of, * * * smelting various metals under conditions of weightlessness in a special electric power furnace located aboard the Salyut 6 Orbital Station and obtaining alloys which can not be achieved on earth due to the force of gravity. Capsules with the materials studied were prepared by Czechoslovak specialists. (68)

Koval and Tyurin recorded other experiments in which the Czechoslovaks contributed, such as, the Oxymeter experiment to study oxygen in human tissues in a state of weightlessness. (69)

(3) Soyuz 30: Hermaszewski spaceflight (Polish)

Poland was next in line.

On June 27, 1978, the Soviet Union launched Soyuz 30, carrying a two-man crew: Veteran cosmonaut Col. Pyotr Klimuk, commander; and Maj. Miroslaw Hermaszewski, a Pole, cosmonaut-researcher. On June 28, Soyuz 30 docked with the orbital complex Salyut 6-Soyuz 29. On July 5, after completing its mission, Klimuk and Hermaszewski returned to Earth on board Soyuz 30, while Soyuz 29, docked to Salyut 6, continued on its mission with cosmonaut Col. Vladimir Kovalyonok and flight engineer Alexander Ivanchenkov. (70)

During the 7 days in space the Soyuz 30 crew studied the manufacture of semiconductors in space; carried out biomedical examinations on the effects of space flights on human organism; photographed the Earth; and performed technical experiments on the function of individual systems of the complete space complex. Soviet space spokesman cosmonaut Vladimir Shatalov said in an interview that each mission involving an Interkosmos member state reflected, to some extent, the scientific interests of that country. In the case of Poland, it was space technology, space ergonomics and psychology, and a series of medical experiments. (71)

On June 29, according to a summarized account of the mission by space writer Gordon R. Hooper, the crew began the day's program which included the beginning of the Soviet-Polish "Sirena 1" experiment with the Splav furnace. "The 46-hour experiment began in the evening," wrote Hooper, "and involved Hermaszewski placing ampoules containing mercury, cadmium and tellurium in the Splav." Hooper continued:

The resulting crystal semi-conductor would be one of the most sensitive known detectors of infrared radiation. It could be used for astronomical research, even when the skies are clouded, or when dust and other pollution are present. It could also be used for "super-accurate photography of the Earth's surface" from orbiting stations such as Salyut 6. Such crystals were also said to be essential for ensuring the further development of laser technology, as many lasers operate on IR radiation principles. (72)

PAP, the official Polish news agency, reported details of the experiments performed on the Soyuz 30 flight. Five were from Poland and six prepared jointly by the Soviet Union and Poland, Czechoslovakia and the GDR. The five Polish experiments were summarized as follows:

Relaks (Relax}.—Designed to determine the influence of recreation exercises upon the psychological condition of the crew during a lengthy space flight.

Kardiolider (Cardioleader).— Designed to control the physical effort of a cosmonaut by monitoring the cardiac strain involved and warning of excessive strain by means of a device designed and constructed in Poland.

Zdrowie (Health).—Designed to estimate the physical capacity of a cosmonaut before the start of a mission, and upon landing, by means of equipment designed and constructed in Poland. The device makes it possible to estimate physical efficiency through simultaneous ECG analysis, analysis of the rate of cardiac contractions, automatic control of blood pressure, respiration rate, the volume of lung minute ventilation and the so-called deep temperature of the body. (73)

The experiments were prepared by various Polish research centers and institutes, including the Physics Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Aviation Medicine, and the Institute of Geodesy and Cartography. The scientific work was coordinated by the Space Research Committee, chaired by Academician J. Rychlewski. (74)

(4) Soyuz 31: John space/tight (East German}

For whatever reasons for the ranking, the East Germans were to follow the Poles in going into space with the Russians.

On August 26, 1978, the Soviet Union launched Soyuz 31, carrying a crew of two men: Flight commander Col. Valery Bykovsky, a veteran of the Vostok 5 and Soyuz 22 missions; and cosmonaut researcher Lt. Col. Sigmund Jahn of the GDR. On August 27, Soyuz 31 docked with the orbital space station Salyut 6-Soyuz 29 inhabited by Cosmonauts Kovalyonok and Ivanchenkov. After performing a 7-day flight program, Bykovsky and Jahn returned to Earth on September 3 in Soyuz 29. (75)

The flight program of Soyuz 31 included medical, biological, and technological experiments, research into physical processes and phenomena in the Earth's atmosphere, and also visual observation and photography of various parts of the Earth's surface and oceans for the study of natural resources. Jahn was the photographer for the mission, using the MKF-6M camera. (76)

More than 20 joint Soviet-GDR experiments were performed on this mission including, according to Gordon R. Hooper:

Syomka.—The photography of various areas of the Earth by means of the MKF-

6M camera;

Berolina.—Materials processing;

Audio.—The testing by means of highly sensitive equipment of a person's ability to distinguish the most subtle nuances of sound in outer space;

Vremya.—Obtaining new data about Man's ability to react speedily under the conditions of weightlessness to the commands given to him by an operator or machine;

Reporter.—Research into the conditions of photography inside spacecraft and testing of various types of photographic Film. (77)

Hooper's account of the Soyuz 31 spaceflight specifically identified only some of the East German contributions. One experiment called Audio was designed to investigate for the first time during a Soviet spaceflight whether the space environment affected hearing. Preparations for the experiment, together with other medical experiments carried out on this mission, were undertaken at the Koenigsbrueck Aviation Medical Institute. (78)

Perhaps the most significant East German contribution to the Soyuz 31 mission was the experiments using cameras built in the GDR. In the Reporter experiment the GDR-designed Prakita EE-2 camera was used. As Hooper explained, Jahn and Bykovsky "collected complete information on methods of photography inside space vehicles and also from onboard the Salyut, in preparation for recommendations on the use of different types of photographic film in space conditions." (79)

In the Polarization experiment the MKF-6m camera was used to determine, as Hooper explained, "the influences of landscape and atmospheric conditions on the accuracy of the guidance of scientific equipment."80 According to Kenneth W. Gatland, the London-based specialist on space affairs, this multispectral camera "has put the Soviet Union into the forefront of Earth resources survey." Developed by the GDR's Carl Zeiss Jena works, with an assist from the Soviet Academy of Sciences, this camera had been used for the first time, and with very good results, in the Soyuz 22 spaceflight during September 1976. Some 2,000 multispectral photographs of the Earth were taken. (81)

(5) Soyuz 33: Ivanov spaceflight (Bulgarian)

Whatever great expectations the Bulgarians may have had in following the East German pattern, they came to naught: The mission failed.

On April 10, 1979, Soyuz 33 was launched at Baikonur Cosmodrome. Aboard the spacecraft were Soviet commander Nikolai Rukavishnikov, a veteran of two spaceflights, Soyuz 10 and Soyuz 16, and cosmonaut researcher Maj. Georgi Ivanov, a Bulgarian. The flight, programed to coincide with the Soviet celebration of Cosmonautics Day, April 12, called for rendezvous and docking with the orbital complex Salyut 6-Soyuz 32 and Soviet-Bulgarian research and experiments to be carried out jointly with cosmonauts Vladimir Lyakhov and Valeriy Ryumin. According to Tass, via malfunction in the "approach correction power unit" of the space capsule caused the last minute cancellation of the docking operation with the space station.82 Rukavishnikov and Ivanov were returned to Earth on April 12. (83)

Experiments, some Bulgarian, were to have been performed on the Soyuz 33 mission. According to a booklet released by the Bulgarian mission at the United Nations on April 10 entitled, "Our Road to Baikonur," several experiments developed by the Bulgarians had been flown aboard Soviet spacecraft in the Interkosmos program. Soyuz 33, in particular, was to carry out "a number of investigations in the field of space physiology, hygiene, psychology, radiobiology and protection from radiation." Moreover, Bulgarian "devices and methods will be applied during some of these medicobiological experiments," the booklet said.84 But the mission was aborted and no experiments were carried out. (85)

(6) Soyuz 36: Farkas space flight (Hungarian)

The Hungarians had better luck than the Bulgarians, but only after a delay in their flight of nearly a year because of reported serious trouble with Salyut 6.86 Soyuz 36 was sent into space on May 26, 1980, with Soviet pilot cosmonaut Valeriy Kubasov in command, accompained by research cosmonaut Bertalan Farkas, a Hungarian. After docking with the Salyut 6-Soyuz 35 space station, where they joined Soviet cosmonauts Leonid Popov and Valeriy Ryumin who had been in space since April 19, the Interkosmos crew carried out their planned flight program, and returned to Earth on June 3 aboard Soyuz 35. (87)

Soviet coverage of the/Soyuz 36 spaceflight would seem to bear out the judgment of Academician Petrov in an interview on June 3 that the work of the Soviet-Hungarian crew was "an impressive example of international/cooperation in space." According to Petrov, "The scientific centers in Hungary compiled a full program for Farkas. It wasjiot-asimple task to carry it out, but I am convinced that our young friend and colleague carried out every task in the flight task log to the letter." This "task log," Petrov noted, required the cosmonauts to carry out 21 experiments ranging from space physics to medicine. Among the more "interesting points" in the program, Petrov listed the making of a new type of semiconductor crystals and research into synthetic interferon, described as "a new medical preparation of the Hungarian pharmacists." (88)

In the press conference on June 12, 1980, Petrov described the Salyut-Soyuz orbital complex as a "multipurpose space laboratory ... a miniature research institution" that makes it possible "to carry out experiments in the interests of various branches of science—from cosmic physics to cosmic biology and medicine." According to Petrov,

The program of joint experiments by the international crew . . . was prepared by Hungarian scientists and specialists in cooperation with scientists of the Soviet Union and other countries—participants in the Intercosmos program. The main trends of this research [are] in the field of space physics and geophysics, in particular a study of the earth's atmosphere, exploration of natural resources and the world ocean basin, technological experiments and medical-biological research.

Petrov went on to emphasize that the experiments carried out by the Interkosmos crew were "not only of a scientific, but also of practical significance." He referred particularly to the study of natural resources, new technological procedures, and the "large complex of medical-biological research" carried on in the flight. (89)

Cosmonaut Kubasov reported that during the 8-day flight "/II applied and 13 medico-biological scientific Soviet-Hungarian experiments were carried out." Special attention was devoted to exploring the Earth's natural resources and study of the environment, he said. "Forty visual observations and earth surface photography sessions," he continued, were performed. Kubasov emphasized that the days in orbit were "packed with intensive work." (90)

Farkas made the following general statement of approval of the backup work done by the many Soviet and Hungarian specialists at the Mission Control Center, insuring "a most efficient conduct of experiments": "The whole complex envisaged by the program of experiments has been carried out by us successfully . . . due to the reliable operation of all systems of the spaceship, station and scientific equipment." (91)

Kubasov alluded to the continuity in the Interkosmos program when he took note of the contributions by specialists from the socialist countries and the use of instruments created in the GDR, Poland, and Bulgaria. "This continuity in the work of cosmonauts will remain in the future," Kubasov pointed out. "We have left in orbit instruments designed by Hungarian specialists. The cosmonauts of the other fraternal countries will

designed by Hungarian specialists. The cosmonauts of the other fraternal countries will carry on the experients, which we started with the use of these instruments." (92)

(7) Soyuz 37: Pham Tuan space/light (Vietnamese)

For the fifth manned spaceflight with a non-Russian cosmonaut aboard the Soviets turned to its ally in Southeast Asia, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. On July 23, 1980, researcher cosmonaut Lt. Col. Pham Tuan, a pilot in the Vietnamese Air Force, and flight commander Col. Viktor Gorbatko, a veteran Soviet pilot cosmonaut, were launched into space aboard Soyuz 37. On the following day the spacecraft docked with the orbital complex Salyut 6-Soyuz 36 with cosmonauts Leonid Popov and Valeriy Ryumin aboard.93 On July 31, after what the Soviets termed "the successful completion of the planned program" aboard the "orbiting scientific-research complex,' Pham Tuan and Gorbatko returned to Earth in Soyuz 36. (94)

Scientific experiments were conducted during the Soyuz 37 mission, but Western scientific observers in Moscow generally credited the spaceflight more for its political impact than any intrinsic scientific value.

At the launching Academician Petrov, who was to die a month later on August 26,95 acknowledged Vietnam as a latecomer in the space sciences, but, nonetheless, he underscored the scientific importance of the flight with the comment, "many original experiments concerned with fundamental and applied problems of space medicine and biology, space technology, mapping of the surface of land and the ocean have been prepared for the Soviet-Vietnamese expedition." (96)

In an interview on July 25, Petrov singled out one of the new experiments prepared by Vietnamese scientists together with Soviet colleagues and specialists in the other Interkosmos countries. The experiment was "connected with studying such complex processes as typhoons and hurricanes. The task is to find out how these transformations start and develop." Asked if this research was important to Vietnam, Petrov replied,

Yes indeed. This research is particularly important because it is there that these natural phenomena occur and sometimes cause great damage to coastal areas. To be prepared in advance for this, to know about their structure, to evaluate their significance, this is of great importance.

Petrov also stressed the "great significance" of the study of natural resources for Vietnam and "much attention was paid to this," he said. The aim of the research, he continued, was,

* * * to develop sufficiently precise assessment methods for natural geological formations, to distinguish likely areas for prospecting for minerals, to work out methods of making assessment of the state of crops, forest planting and so on. (97)

From the Vietnamese side, Tran Dai Ngia, Chairman of the National Research Center of the SRV, expressed the gratitude of his country for the scientific opportunity Soviet science had opened to it; took note of the prevailing spirit of cooperation in preparing for the mission; and expressed the hope that,

* * * even during the short flight we shall manage to lay the foundations for the commencement of work on the first space atlas of Vietnam and to start working on geological, geomorphological and hydrological maps of the country. (98)

The Vietnamese Halong experiment was given special emphasis in the Soviet coverage of the Soyuz 37 mission. Prepared by Soviet and Vietnamese specialists together with those from the GDR, Halong 1, according to Tass, was "devoted to growing crystals of the 'bismuth-tellurium-selenium' system in conditions of weightlessness." The aim of the experiment was "to investigate how conditions of crystallization affect the structure and physical properties of alloys." The purpose of Halong 2 and Halong 3 experiments were "to obtain cylindrical monocrystals with a given structure. During two other subsequent experiments "crystals of gallium phosphide with varying trace element content are being grown," Tass said. (99)

While the Soviets appeared to build up the scientific significance of this latest flight in the Interkosmos program, Western scientific specialists in Moscow downgraded it. Like the other five earlier flights, they said, in the words of the press report, it appeared "to be light on scientific significance and important mainly for its psychological effect. . . ." Greater significance was placed on its political impact in the Third World, especially in Asia, in part because Pham Tuan, a fighter pilot credited with shooting down an American B-52 in the Vietnam war, was the first Asian to go into space. The flight, coinciding with the Moscow Olympics and thus enhancing its propaganda value, was also credited with solidifying Soviet-Vietnamese friendship, a particularly meaningful action at this juncture in the international politics of Eastern Asia. As the Hanoi leaders said in a message to their counterparts in Moscow, the space flight was "an excellent demonstration of the Soviet Union s great and effective assistance to Vietnam" which "proves the supe riority of the socialist system." (1)

Some political significance for intra-Communist bloc politics was also evident by the fact that the Vietnamese were given priority over the Romanians in the timing of this flight. At least in foreign policy, the Romanians have insisted upon an independent course, often to the distress of Moscow. A Romanian was not sent into space until May 1981. (2)

(8) Soyuz 38: Tamayo spaceflight (Cuban)

The final Interkosmos manned spaceflight in 1980 was assigned to a Cuban military flier, research cosmonaut Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez. Veteran pilot cosmonaut and space hero Yuriy Romanenko commanded the Soyuz 38 spacecraft that carried the cosmonauts into space on September 18, 1980.3 Soyuz 38 docked with the orbiting space station Salyut 6-Soyuz 37 on September 19 where Romanenko and Tamayo joined Popov and Ryumin who by October 11 were to set a record of 185 days in space.4 After a weeklong stay with the space complex, Romanenko and Tamayo returned to Earth on September 26.

As if by set formula, Soviet pronouncements on the flight program of Soyuz 38 followed the pattern of the preceding five Interkosmos missions. According to a Tass announcement, the cosmonauts were to perform studies and experiments planned, this time, by Soviet and Cuban specialists. During their 7 days in space they were to conduct visual observations and photograph the Earth's surface for the study of natural resources and the environment. Other experiments were to be performed involving studies of cosmic material and biomedicine. (5)

Subsequent reports on the mission discussed some of the 20 experiments conducted, identifying by name the type of experiment and the country of origin as if to underscore the international character of the Interkosmos program. For example, Tass reported that the cosmonauts would carry out, "Contrast," "Horizon," "Atmosphere," and "Terminator" experiments, which were prepared jointly by experts from the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, and Hungary. The Bulgarian-made Spectr-15 and the multispectral space camera MKF-6M manufactured in the GDR would be used in this experiment. (6)

Experiments prepared by Cuban specialists were also singled out and highlighted as in the case of the medical experiment, "Support." The findings of this experiment, the Soviets said, "will help to evaluate the changes in the structure and functions of the fornix

of human foot at zero gravitation."7 Another experiment using Cuban-made equipment was termed, "the Sakhar experiment," the first of the Carcibba series. The Soviets pointed out that since sugar was the basis of the Cuban economy,

* * * these experiments are of great interest to Cuban scientists and will help in creating mathematical models of these processes, which will, of course, have a bearing on the production of sugar on earth. (8)

References:

A. SOVIET SPACE PROGRAMS: 1976-80, (WITH SUPPLEMENTARY DATA THROUGH 1983) MANNED SPACE PROGRAMS AND SPACE LIFE SCIENCES PREPARED AT THE REQUEST OF HON. BOB PACKWOOD, Chairman, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION UNITED STATES SENATE, Part 2, OCTOBER 1984, Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON, D. C., 1984

60. At one time, there was a suggestion that the countries were simply being handled in alphabetical order according to the Cyrillic alphabet. This does not hold true, since Poland even in the Cyrillic alphabet appears later than Bulgaria, and the letter "ch" in Cyrillic, which is the first letter of Czechoslovakia, the first Interkosmos country to send a cosmonaut into space, is the 25th letter of the Cyrillic alphabet.

37.An illustration of the point being made here is the conclusion of a protocol in March 1980 between the Soviet-dominated Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and Soviet communications authorities to install two ground stations in Afghanistan "for the exploitation of satellites to receive and transmit television programs and carry out communications services" using the Soviet Intersputnik system. With some 85,000 Soviet troops campaigning in Afghanistan to pacify the country in what is now a 2-year effort, the political and military implications of this protocol are readily apparent. (FBIS 08. Afghan-Soviet Satellite Station Protocol Signed. Kabul in English to Europe, 1900 GMT, Mar. 19, 1980.)

38. The 27 th. IAF Congress, Anaheim, U.S.A, Astronautics & Aeronautics, vol. 14 December 1976, p_ 52 The writers were describing Petrov's presentation at the Congress. They noted: "The work of other Academy of Science commissions has now shifted to the Intercosmos Council and it tormulates all international space research, such as the agreement with Comecon of this past June on cooperative space activities. Thus Dr. Petrov spoke with authority, and he gave his remarks from notes with a definite flourish."

47. Koval and Tyurin, Astronautics: A Promising Realm of International Cooperation, pp. 86-87.

48. Ibid., p. 87 For a discussion of the technical aspects of Intersputnik, see, Sheldon United States and Soviet Progress m space, 1980, p. 83. Sheldon noted that the Soviets had triS to interest other countries m their communications satellite system, "but this had such a poor reception that the plan has advanced slowly. About five years late. Soviet television to Cuba has opened. In late 1975 Intersputnik received a new lease on life with the plan to launch up to eleven large Statsionar satellites in 24-hour synchronous orbit between 1975 and 1980, with five of these longitudinal spots now filled by Ekran, Raduga, and Gorizont payloads. Still more ambitious Soviet plans have subsequently been announced, for 19 more satellite locations registered with the International Telecommunications Union."

49. Kapitonov, V., International Cooperation in Space, p. 79. Kapitonov summarizes the many cooperative programs undertaken within Interkosmos. For a survey of Polish participation in Interkosmos, see, Wolczek, Olgierd. Poland in the Intereosmos Programme. Spaceflight, vol. 22, May 5, 1980:190-192.

64. See above chapter 1. James Oberg, a seasoned American observer of Soviet space activities, wrote: "Now as before, politics, public relations, one-upmanship and show business seem to have influenced Moscow's space planning." Oberg noted that the Soviet effort to recruit from its East European allies coincided with the preparation of West European scientists for space missions as part of the U.S. Space Shuttle Program. (The Los Angeles Times, Feb. 20, 1977, p. 2.)

An indication of the GDR's contribution to Interkosmos was apparent in an article published in Spaceflight (vol. 21, Nov. 11, 1979, p. 442) by Wilhelm Hempel, Presidium Member of the GDR's Astronautical Society. Hempel wrote:

"By autumn 1976 the GDR had developed about 80 onboard and 50 ground instruments for the joint space research projects of Comecon, including highly efficient instruments from the Institute for Electronics, the Centre for Scientific Apparatus Production, the nationally-owned Carl Zeiss factory at Jena, the Robotron Computer works and other institutions.

"With the change from smaller instruments to apparatus of increasing sophistication, systems like the MFK-6 multi-spectrum camera and the high-quality Sl-1 Infrared-Fourier-Spectrometer, the demands on the organizers of the cooperative programme increased both nationally and internationally. In the early period of cooperation a single institute or even a small group of scientists and technologists were able to contribute to a space experiment; but today this involves the cooperation of a whole number of institutes and industrial enterprises. Planning has become more complicated and joint projects require steady coordination and synchronisation."

84. Wilford, John Noble. Russian and Guest from Bulgaria on Way to Visit 2 in Space Station The New York Times, Apr. 11, 1979, p. A20. In the coverage of the ceremonies, apparently, nothing was said publicly about the experiments. Rather great emphasis was placed upon the "courage, self-possession," and "professional skill" of both men, as Brezhnev had said, in operating the spaceship under "unusually difficult conditions." (Moscow Domestic Service in Russian 1700 GMT, May 3, 1979, in FBIS Daily Report: Soviet Union, vol. 3, May 4, 1979, pp. U1-U2) For coverage on the cosmonauts' return, reports from flight control center, landing of Soyuz 33 and Cosmonautics Day, see, FBIS Daily Report: Soviet Union, vol. 3, Apr. 13, 1979, pp. U1-U3.

85. However, the Bulgarians were progressing in the development of the Bulgarian-Soviet satellite Bulgarian-1300. According to a Bulgarian report, "the best versions of the Bulgarian equipment for the satellite were sent to the Soviet Union for trials. The satellite was to be launched in near space in 1981 on the eve of the 1300th anniversary of the founding of the Bulgarian state. The satellite was expected to carry on further research into the ionosphere Some 70 Bulgarian science and production units were said to be participating in the development of satellite. (Preparation of "Bulgaria-1300" Satellite. Sofia BTA in English, 1840 GMT, June, 1980, in FBIS Daily Report: Eastern Europe, June 10, 1980, p. C3.)

86. Postponement of the Hungarian flight was announced on June 2, 1979. Rescheduling was not to be expected for 4 or 5 months, possibly even a year. (The New York Times, June 3, 1979,

92. Ibid. For a commentary on some of the technical experiments carried on in the Soyuz 35 mission, see, Moscow Tass in English, 1210 GMT, May 30, 1980, p. U2. References are made here to the study of materials in space on the Kristall installation. Two experiments were carried out for the purpose of studying the process of melting, diffusion and crystallization of materials in conditions of weightlessness. Aluminum and copper were used. Refraction and Zarya experiments were also performed along with experiments entitled, "Capacity for Work" and "Audio."

99. Moscow Tass International Service in Russian, 1152 GMT, July 30, 1980, in FBIS Daily Report: Soviet Union, vol. 3, July 31, 1980, p. U2. For other Soviet nontechnical commentaries on the experiments performed on the Soyuz 37 mission, see the report from Flight Control Center, Moscow Domestic Service in Russian, 0905 GMT, July 26, 1980, in FBIS Daily Report: Soviet Union, vol. 3, July 28, 1980, pp. U2-U3; and Ryabov, G. A Good Job Done. New Times (Moscow), No. 32, August 1980:12-13.

1. Austin, Anthony. Vietnam-Soviet Space Effort Ends; Political Impact is Called Extensive. The New York Times, Aug. 1, 1980, p. B4; Sterba, James P. Hanoi Touts Its Astronaut as a Benefit of Moscow Ties. The New York Times, Aug. 2, 1980, p. 3; and Willis, David K. Soviets id for Third-World Prestige with Viet Cosmonaut. The Christian Science Monitor, July 25, 1980, p. 3. The political message in the joint statement of congratulations by Brezhnev and the Vietnamese leader Le Duan to the orbiting cosmonauts is self-evident: "The Olympic flame is now burning in Moscow. The 22nd Olympics are proceeding under the sign of the desire of the world's peoples for peace, international solidarity and friendship. These lofty aims are also served by your spaceflight." (Moscow Pravda in Russian, July 26, 1980, p. 1, in FBIS Daily Report: Soviet Union, vol. 3, July 31, 1980, p. Ul.)